Financial Support
Making aliyah, or living in Israel without family support can be very challenging financially. Army salary is not enough to live on unless you structure your finances carefully. Without financial support from family, many lone soldiers go into debt. Even if you do have support from family, you may need to carefully plan your expenses. Writing a budget is important to minimizing stress in your life outside the army. Important things to consider Salary * What you do in the army will determine how much you are paid. Lone Soldiers automatically earn approximately 1.5x-2x salary as their "coworkers" ** Combat soldiers get paid the most ** Combat support soldiers get paid the median ** Support soldiers / ג׳ובניקים (Jobnikim) earn the lowest army salary *** However, they may have enough spare time to get a second non-army job, which can dramatically increase their earnings. How much leave will you get from the army * Different jobs have different amounts of leave ** Combat Soldiers typically get the least leave from the army. Schedules like 11 days on base and 3 days on leave (11/3) and up to 17/4 or even 19/2 are commonplace. This limited time off base can help stretch the army salary further. However, combat roles are also the most stressful, which can raise your out of the army spending dramatically. ** Combat Support leave ** Jobnik leave is often very generous, but varies. Schedules like 5/2 or even daily exits are common. This combined with low salary leads many jobnikim (ג׳ובניקים) to money issues. Many jobnik ג׳ובניק soldiers get a second job with permission from their commanders to make ends meet. The three biggest expenses will be # Rent/Housing # Food # Entertainment / Stress Relief # Misc Rent/Housing Where you live will be the biggest single expense while you are a soldier. Where you live while you are on leave will also determine the other expenses for your meager army salary. You can rent from a private landlord, or from an organization such as a kibbutz or Soldier House. For more details, see the article above Rent/Housing Food Living on a kibbutz or in another group living situation usually involves eating free or subsidized food in a cafeteria. Garin Tzabar, for instance, is supposed to provide food for all your meals on the kibbutz. This can be a major cost saving. Living on your own means purchasing food yourself. Lone soldiers are supposed to be let out early enough on fridays to arrive home before 11:59 in order to buy food for themselves for shabbat. Getting home any later can mean going hungry or needing to join another family for shabbat dinner. This is an important right. If you are purchasing your own food, be aware there is a 120NIS food benefit from Shufersal that you can get with your T.Z. number. However, there are other supermarkets and even restaurants that might save you more money when you inevitably try to buy more than 120 shekels. Ask fellow lone soldiers where you live for their favorite deals. Entertainment / Stress Relief Being a soldier can be stressful. You will want to engage in retail therapy or expensive entertainment options in order to relax. Even drugs such as tobacco and alcohol. Many soldiers develop an addiction to cigarettes which can harm their lungs and aerobic ability. Lacking aerobic ability can get you injured or killed as a combat soldier. Some soldier's burgeoning alcohol consumption at bars or even at home can affect their health and wallet as well. **'BEWARE'** There are soldiers who develop alcoholism during their time in the army. However, this is under their control. The key is to find positive stress relieving activities for your free time. Free or Cheap stress relieving activities: * Exercise ** Running, biking, swimming, lifting * Art / Music ** On base friendly: *** Drawing *** Guitar ** Concerts * Sex ** Be safe though! __INDEX__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__